My favorite president, of the ones I've met, is probably Harry Truman. I think he could teach Barrack Obama something about how to do the job.
Truman's strength was his humanity. When he disagreed with you, you knew it. His nickname in the newspapers and among people talking about him was "Give 'Em Hell Harry." As an ex-president Truman often came back to Washington, always stayed at the same hotel. He went for a walk every morning, always shadowed by a gaggle of reporters. Whenever someone asked about the nickname, which was fairly often, Mr. Truman always answered, "I never gave anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell." Okay, sir, but they got the message.
Another favorite moment involves Dwight Eisenhower. When he had a press conference (he had one just about every week - now there's a change), reporters stood up when they wanted to ask a question, identified themselves, "Joe Doaks, Mr. President, Detroit Tribune," and then asked it. I remember once when Eisenhower really didn't like the question. His face turned bright red, you could almost see the five stars in the World War II general appear on the shoulders of his business suit, and he snapped (command voice, I think they call it), "Sit down!" The reporter, normally an aggressive fellow, sat.
What we need from Mr. Obama, I think, is more passion. We know he's smart and thoughtful, and all that. But we'd like to see him angry, passionate about some cause.
Come on, sir. Give 'em hell and kick some ass.
Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. Learn more.
No comments:
Post a Comment